long time lurker from Seattle, WA & her family project

[Andrea]

I want to say "thanks" to everyone who posts what they've learned or what they know. My family & I are rebuilding a 1962 14' Aloha trailer (interior is 10' living space). "Rebuilding" is a kind word. She's a boned ham right now. Her structure blew away like cold cinders on a windy day.

Maybe we should have started from scratch, but we were too intimidated trying to manage the structural templates. So, we decided, get something which we can trace. The axle is in good shape. heh. Anyways, I'm not building a tear, but I am tearing up over my tiny trailer. ha! No, we're having a blast "deconstructing" it together and making plans for the future. We're not doing a "vintage" restoral here because there won't be anything "vintage left to restore. We're keeping the windows and we're hoping the siding, axle & floor won't need to be replaced. Everything else is gone. We're trying to keep the weight down below 1700 lbs, but that might be a fantasy on my part.

I just finished spending a Sunday reading up on the "holy grail" of keeping things cold. When I started this morning, I thought there were only the Coleman & Igloo brands. From the various threads, I've come to find:

Engel - ice chest & Fiberglass Ice Boxes
Galaxy (used to be Icee-Kool)
Moeller Marine Ice Station
Down Under USA - Tropical Coooler, Five Star, Ultra Cool
Yeti - Roughneck, Sherpa, Fiberglass & Tundra series
Frigid Rigid
Iowa Rotocast Plastics Ice Otter
SSI Ultimate (Sailing Specialists Inc.)

I was just looking for a 90-100 qt cooler to fit in a 36"lx 18"wx 21"h volume of space. Whew. I got more than I was looking for when I started on the cooler threads.

btw - I saw a question I don't believe was answered. Someone asked how you attached your own latches to the latchless type coolers. I was wondering that as well, but wanted to introduce myself before I started plastering the board with my questions.

Anyways, here's a picture of "The Project":


Thank you again for all your efforts! This is amazing reading.
-a
Andrea

[mandy]

Welcome,
I just love those canned hams. As always keeps us updated with the pics. it keeps Aunti M. Happy. And while you are at it visit us on the lady teardroppers say hello thread.

Have Fun
Mandy

[Andrea]

Thank you for the welcome, Mandy. I've got some "before" pics uploaded, but showing her with her bare bones... I'll go see if any of the pics turned out.

-a

[Mike C.]

Hi Andrea and Family,


Welcome to the forum. Glad you have picked up so much valuable information so far. Hope we can continue to be helpful. Keep the pictures coming and if we can help out, just ask.

See you around.

[Miriam C.]

to the playground Andrea and family. Beautiful TTT you have there. It is a shame to have to take it apart. I am sure you will do a wonderful job rebuilding though.

Good luck and thanks for the pictures.

[satch]

Welcome I always wanted to rebuild one of those "classics". Have fun, and keep us posted

[Andrea]

Well, I took pictures with my phone & I haven't successfully emailed them to myself - yet. I'm still trying.

satch - We can't wait to get to the fun part of the rebuild either. Right now, it's more about coordinating the demo with the structural rebuild than anything. We lost so much of the structure because the rot was so bad that whole sections just blew away. We had to halt the demo. There was nothing to tie the roof to the floor on the right side. The minute you begin tearing into a piece of siding on these canned hams you're committing yourself to what you uncover. In our case, it was the interior walls holding the whole thing together.

These were actually pretty sophisticated little babies. It had a 110 feed with about 50 amps of fuses, it was fully plumbed, with an icebox & its drain, a potty room with a black water tank, and a full range. It had both 110 & propane lighting. It appears that there was plumbing for a heater, with venting on the side, but we didn't find the heater. We did, however, find the requisite "dessicated mouse body" which everyone is supposed to find in the insulation of one of these babies. Yes, it was insulated. The pink stuff, R11.

We're going to go much more simply because we want to be off the grid more often & because we really love our food. The icebox went because it's not as large as a cooler. We're going with just a slide in stove top b/c we need storage. We've decided against putting back the potty room b/c a "room" made out of 1/4" plywood which is 23" wide is more about modesty than comfort that I can see. The greywater tank was made out of tarred canvas. Kinda interesting. We're going to stick a bucket under the sink. They never had a blackwater tank that we can see.

Anyways, we thought / hoped we'd only have to replace a few places of rotted birch siding on the interior, but when we got into it we weren't surprised to find that so much of the structure was rotted. That's so common with these canned hams that professionals simply skin them first thing. We don't have a covered work area. We're rebuilding at my Dad's apartment complex, so we didn't have that as a first option. We're going from the inside out just to keep it covered. The floor appears to be in really good condition though and everyone is in love with the axle. It doesn't have a modern braking system though. So that'll be what's left of "vintage".

Hello Miriam,
Thanks for the welcome. I'm hoping to keep the pink & cream colors. I didn't upload the pictures of the mouse droppings or how dingy dirty it was on the interior but I didn't even feel "comfortable" sitting in it, much less sleeping. Someone had laid carpet in the potty room. ewww... The propane range was rusted. The plywood of the birch cabinets had separated. But it was a perfect TTT for us. A template to work from! I think of it sort of like a child's coloring book - it was the lines we needed to fill in the colors.

Thank you, Mike C. for the welcome! See you around!
-a

[Roly Nelson]

Andrea, welcome to the forum. I too have a vintage Kenskill 10 footer that required a complete interior remodel. It is now finished and sports new wall and ceiling paneling, new vinyl floor, upper and lower cabinets and a convertable dinette plus a porta potty. Reworking these old trailers is an experience in it self, finding the unexpected and working through all of the structural complexities.

Keeping it original inside is almost an impossible task, but if the exterior looks original, the best part is a surprise to anyone entering a newly completed interior. Good luck on your efforts, take and post pics, we gotta see them to keep abreast of your efforts.
Roly, 5 year teardropper and 1 year cross-over vintage trailer nut.

[Andrea]

Thank you, Roly -
Where did you find the Kenskill? The reason I ask is that I sure haven't seen them advertised around here. I've heard of it, but I think I've only seen one or two that were getting finished. I sure never saw that make come up on CraigsList or eBay. The Aloha trailer brand I've got, I haven't seen that advertised outside of the west. I'm wondering how regional some of these manufacturers were.

I'm working to keep the exterior original. I love the little teardrop trailer lights. My husband can't find them in LED, so those won't be low power 'cause I don't want to change them out. We actually only have one busted light. Whoopee!

(I do think I qualify as a nut for this trailer). heh

Thanks,
-a

[dreadcptflint]

Welcome aboard. You have to look in weird places for weird things. Over on this side of the mountains every so often some one pulls an old trailer out of an orchard or from a canyon and up it goes in a local ad, ebay and occasionally craig's list. I don't have the room where I am at or else I would be rebuilding a couple that I found last summer for $50.

Matt

[Roly Nelson]

Hi Andrea, I found my Kenskill being advertised on a free advertising paper called the Penny Saver. As soon as I saw the add, I called but 2 others had already called to swing by and look at it. I told the seller what I planned to do with it and she invited me over right away befor the others could respond. I hooked it up and was hauling it away when the others drove up.........but they were just too late.
Roly

[Andrea]

hello Matt,
My husband & my Dad squashed my "bargain basement" field finds. They said it would cost more to get a truck to haul it home than we could ever get use out of. ha! At least we got a title, license & tabbed axle with some sheet metal hanging off of it.

Roly,
Yep, we actually were bidder losers as well who were given a second chance - got there fastest. heh. If you're slow, it's gone!

-a

[dreadcptflint]

I don't know what it is other than your side of the woods. Check out: http://olympic.craigslist.org/rvs/713265166.html. Dad and Hubby can't say much since it's still towable.

[Andrea]

Well, at least it saves the steps of boning the ham yourself. Ha!

I've loaded some new pictures up in the album. The structure is going to be stronger than it was. All the paneling could finally be removed because we were able to get structural pieces rebuilt enough so that the ceiling was actually tied to the floor with supports and not just the plywood paneling.

We've had horrible weather and summer colds, though, here in Seattle and everything's slowed down.

Thanks!
-a

[dreadcptflint]

Yeah, I know all about the weather over there. We have had snow around 2500 feet in the last couple of days. It looks like the first high pressure system is coming in and it should be in the 80s for father's day.